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                 UN: Syria Mass Executions Could Be War Crimes

   The U.N. human rights office says armed opposition groups in Syria,
   particularly an extreme al-Qaida-linked faction, are committing a
   "soaring" number of killings in the country`s north that could amount
   to war crimes.
   U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said Thursday that
   reports in the past two weeks have documented numerous mass executions
   of civilians and fighters no longer participating in hostilities in the
   cities of Aleppo, Idlib and Raqqa.
   She said the killings were carried out by "hardline armed opposition
   groups in Syria," in particular the al-Qaida-linked Islamic State of
   Iraq and the Levant.
   Pillay said some of the executions appear to have been carried out when
   rebel fighters abandoning bases slaughtered people in their custody, in
   violation of the Geneva Conventions.
   Also Thursday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
   said the two weeks of clashes between ISIL and other rebel forces in
   northern Syria has killed nearly 1,100 people, including 130 civilians.
   Radical Islamist cleric Abu Qatada, who is on trial in Jordan for
   terrorism, called on extremist groups in Syria to end their infighting
   and unite ranks.
   Jihadists factions such as ISIL were initially welcomed by other
   rebels, but allegations of brutal abuses against civilians as well as
   rival opposition fighters has sparked a backlash.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/un-syria-mass-executions-could-be-war
   -crimes/1831397.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/un-syria-mass-executions-could-be-war-crimes/1831397.html